The FAMCare Blog

The Martin Luther King housing projects in Harlem are less than a mile from the wealthiest zip code in America. The apartments along Fifth Avenue facing Central Park from 59th to 89th street sell for $3 million to $30 million. Agnes Gund, a banking heiress and president emerita of the Museum of Modern Art, lives in one of those apartments. Agnes is a renowned collector of modern art who recently surprised the art world by selling the Roy Lichtenstein masterpiece that long hung over the mantle in her Manhattan apartment for $162 million, one of the 15 highest prices ever paid for artwork. She then further shocked the nonprofit world by donating $100 million from the sale to create the Art for Justice Fund, which on its website calls itself a movement to end mass incarceration. “I thought I should do something about something that to me is so wrong about our system,” Gund said. With that simple statement, Agnes Gund recognized the plight of the poor community that lived a universe away from her posh surroundings but only a half mile from her front door.

The devastation and wreckage of everyday lives left behind by Harvey and Irma is hard to imagine or visualize unless you’re on the ground in Texas or Florida. It’s in the big things like homes and schools and offices and stores and vehicles. It’s in the little things like pets and pictures and awards and diplomas and cozy chairs, favorite shoes and familiar cell phones that were daily refuge. Texans and Floridians driven into shelters are glad to be alive but are not sure who they are or where they belong. Overnight, their identity was mysteriously removed, and they can’t think beyond their next bite of food or available restful cot. They have no plans for tomorrow. They are not clear what tomorrow looks like. We furnish our everyday lives with things familiar (the stuff of our lives) that give us comfort and identity. Suddenly removed, we are left without context. We are traumatized and drift into post-traumatic-stress-syndrome without even realizing it.  

Hey there!

Just a short announcement that the Official FAMCare User Forum was launched today.  The forum has been something we've wanted to do for a while to help create a place for users to go to network with other FAMCare users and to find answers to their issues.

Hello - this week's Movie Mondays fundraising tip is in.  Chas. Floyd Johnson is a successful TV producer, putting out such projects and shows as Magum P.I. and Quantum Leap.  Check out this interview where Chas. shares his magic formula of keeping people engaged.  Enjoy!

A long time contributor to our blog had this to share today about the negative state of our NEWS.  It's amazing that when you actually take time to focus on the GOOD, you can easily push away all of the negative information that is thrown at us each day.  When you are pounded every day with negative news - it can have an overwhelming effect on your psyche.  Have you heard or seen any good news lately?  Please feel free to share it here.

From 24-7 Press Release.com

ST. LOUIS, MO, September 12, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Global Vision Technologies' (GVT) is proud to announce its twentieth year as a leading developer of case management software for human services. GVT has achieved two decades of innovation and steady growth helping social service and healthcare agencies leverage technology to improve record keeping, workflow and outcomes.

Need a good fundraising tip?  Our friends at Movie Mondays have a new one this week and it's pretty good.  Check it out here.

I recently read an article on the Social Work Degree Guide website.  It enlightened me to the fact that while Social Workers are tirelessly working to find solutions for their clients in need, they rarely take the time to take care of their own needs.  Unfortunately, more often than not it leads to burnout.  Please read the article below for more information on some of the symptoms, causes and solutions to Social Worker Burnout.  

I'm always interested in learning how caseworkers manage their days both when at work and when they leave work. Social work is not easy, not by far, but it can be so rewarding when you have the ability to impact the life of someone in a positive way.  When I come across interesting information or a good article, I always look to share it with our community.

Yoga

Permit me to excerpt the article, Yoga For Addiction by Kate Jackson in Social Work Today to discuss the use of yoga as part of the new therapeutic alternatives being tried by social workers facing the virtual epidemic of substance abuse.